Staples UK: What do I do when the company refuses responsibility?

Coco543

I've been a long-time lurker and it's sad this is what brings me to post! My husband bought an office chair from Staples UK (lockdown working). After 7 months, the bolt holding the back sheared off leaving us with a stool. We contacted Staples, offered and then sent photos of the damage, and were given the response that we had misused the chair and there was nothing further they could / would do. After we disputed, it was passed up to a "supervisor", who again said it was misuse. We are confident that we didn't misuse it, and that if it broke from being sat on every day then the chair was either faulty or not fit for purpose. They have now drawn a line under the issue and appeared to have stopped responding to us, but I am not happy - 7 months is not a reasonable life expectancy for a chair. The amount of money isn't massive but on principle, I am not letting this go. Thing is, where do I go now? I looked for an ombudsman but couldn't find one that would cover Staples UK and as far as I can see, a mediator may cost more than the chair. Is there anything I can do, or do I just have to say that Staples have got away with this and not use them again?

JJ_Egan

Contact them again and claim under your Consumer Rights  .

They are entitled to ask for an independent report on your claim .Basically that would be to rule out user damage .

David713

You have the option to take legal action against Staples but if you do this, you will have to provide some proof that the fault was due to a manufacturing defect and that the bolt didn't shear due to misuse.
How much was the chair? and what sort of usage has it had over the past 7 months?

Coco543

The chair had daily use in our spare room turned home office. It was marketed as an office chair though, so I would expect it to be able to cope with someone sitting at a computer desk during the working week. He is tall but not heavy. We have not had this issue with other chairs, although I realise they didn't have the same level of use (we replaced the office chair we'd had there before for comfort rather than because it had broken or worn out, but had been used as more of an occasional chair).

I did see information on the onus being on us proving a fault - I've done a quick internet search and not found other people reporting the same issue online, which I was hoping to find as evidence. The chair was £98: visual inspections reports from the Furniture and Home Improvement Ombudsman cost from £135. I have seen people quoting for bed inspections from £125. We've already had to buy another chair (not from Staples!) so that he has something comfortable to sit in, so really the only thing they could do now is refund. I'm guessing then that it's not really cost effective to pursue. This will drive me crazy though (and get brought up every time if someone even thinks the name Staples).

dj1471

Can't you just replace the bolt?! Much quicker/cheaper than chasing Staples...

Coco543

dj1471 said:

Can't you just replace the bolt?! Much quicker/cheaper than chasing Staples...

It's taken part of the chair back with it and we've bought a new chair from somewhere else now anyway. I just feel like we've been ripped off, I suppose, which is really unpleasant.